Friday, June 26, 2009

Well it's official the RAID system is trashed on my computer. We got it boot up last night, checked the errors and ran a defragmentation scan (31% fragmented files is a lot) it took all night to run that scan and fix the errors. And hope against all hope it started doing it again - the clunking noise in the hard drives. I'll run a diagnostics test on the RAID tomorrow but I already know the results based on it's performace.

The only bright spot in this whole ordeal is the hard drives are half what I paid for them 4 years ago! The down side is I'll have to wait a few weeks to do the repairs as sales have been rather slow of late. I guess this is a sign that I should spend more time dyeing, painting, and stitching fabric! ;-) Now that's a bright spot I can embrace!!!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Part of my oil pastel collection, the fat ones in the round tub are cattle, or sheep, markers.

I pulled out my ThreeFold magazines the other night and was reviewing some of their techniques. I was monoprinting with acetate sheets back in 1995 when I couldn't afford a really nice large glass plate to print with - the zines are very well written.

I've had this set of pastels since 1995 my classmate gave me his set of deluxe rembrant oil pastels - a wonderful gift for a starving artist at that time!

Today's painting session included a little bit of everything on paper, I was working with some of my older paints and pastels testing their viability.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Well it'll be rough the next few days my favorite computer died, I'm writing from a ten (ish) year old AMD machine that I now refer to as granny. I"m not sure if I'll be replacing the other machine or if it's some part that failed inside I'll know later this evening. So bear with me over the next few days - the withdrawls are rough right now ;-)

Thursday, June 18, 2009

AuriFil Rayon Thread - Alex sent me twelve spools, I was expecting one or two spools but not twelve, to test. I will put it through all sorts of extremes and let y'all know how it stands up to what's available on the market. And as we all know I can and DO do evil things to thread so if it has limitations I'll know, and probably within the first five minutes of use!

Friday, June 12, 2009

Hook and Loop Tape at least that's what I'm guessing it is, it's on a cotton twill tape base. I really need about 20 feet of this IN cotton or linen for a project I"m working on. When I searched for this on the net I get everything but pictures of the above. Anyone know the correct name?

Monday, June 08, 2009

There's been a thread on the quiltart list asking "whose your favorite artist" I'm posting my list here as 1.) it gives me a reason to post to my blog and 2.) simply because I think my list is a little outside the norm of a quilter. Lighting and mood fascinate me teneberism and chiaroscuro are the elements I'm most attracted to in a painting, these elements can be captured with texture and form in textiles.

I added some "sky blue" setacolor transparent paint to the lower half of the piece. The Poppies themselves are painted with shiva paintsticks, I used two different yellows. I'll add some color to the top of the piece to balance it out and more color to the poppies themselves.

I started this a couple of years ago and just now getting around to finishing the piece - of course I would have finished it sooner had I known where it was hiding!

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

I'm off to wash fleeces, Jacob to be exact. I was supposed to do this last year but it never stopped raining long enough to get it done and then life got hectic so... Looks like I will have a three day window to wash some wool and hopefully get some dye pots going as well.

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

I take my skins cover with water bring to a simmer for about 15 minutes and then allow to sit overnight. Next day I bring to a simmer and let simmer for about an hour before adding my fabrics, fibers, etc. I allow the fibers to simmer for an hour, shut off the heat and allow the dyebath and fabric to sit overnight. This has yeilded me the best color to date that has been quite lightfast.

Monday, June 01, 2009

Still working my way through "I'd Rather be in the Studio" and am pondering some of the things I'm reading in Action 1 => Define Success for Yourself. Sounds simple doesn't it???

After much thought, and still being stuck I took a different approach after reading Lisa Call's blogfor a bit, and came at the question from the back door --- I started with a list of what I had accomplished already and what I did and did not like about what I had accomplished. In doing so I can see where I got off track some seven years ago... More later.

About Me

A Mixed Media Fiber Artist, I have been dyeing with natural dyes using local and sustainable materials since 1993. I teach surface design using natural dyes, rust dyeing, compost dyeing and other surface design techniques.